ONE YEAR OLD!!! What an incredible year!!!!

What an incredible year!!!!  I don't think I could have ever imagined the amazing joy that this sweet boy would bring us.  You always hear that the love you have for your children will be different than any love you have ever felt before but I didn't realize how truly amazing it would be until we had Luke. 

He has taught us how to look at life in a totally different way.  He has made our marriage even better and stronger than ever.  He has taught us to find the balance between a healthy, strong relationship and caring for your child.  He has taught us to love and appreciate the little, wonderful things in life and that it is not worth stressing over the small things that don't really matter.  He has taught us that little things are worth getting super excited about!  That love is truly unconditional.  That sleep deprivation could really be a form of torture :).  Most importantly he has taught us to truly be selfless.  Any time he is ever sick or in pain I wish more than anything that I could take that from him and apply it to me.  We have been so blessed that he has had very few illnesses and his health so far has been good with the exception of the normal junk kids get.  We just pray that this continues.  I can't wait to see what else he will teach us.  This, by far, has been one of the greatest years of our lives.  I look forward to many more!!!  Thank you for a wonderful year Luke...we love you more everyday!!!

Here is what you are up to right now:
-Still love your mom and dad....we need to soak this in as much as possible :).
-You LOVE walking!!  You don't want us to ever hold your hand....you want to walk like a big boy on your own!
-Love your sippy cup and have had such an easy transition to regular milk!  You walk around with that cup in your hand clinched on it for dear life.  If we attempt to take it away you will put up quite the fight!  You are not into your bottle at all.
-You love food and will try just about anything.  You will let us know if you don't like it.  You are really into throwing your food....we are working on stopping this game very soon :). 
-You love to test your limits with us....
-You are still overly cautious....which is great the majority of the time.  You like to really take a situation in before doing anything.
-Love any and every type of ball, grill and coffee cup! 
-Love to explore!  You want to look, touch and feel everything!!  When we take you to a new place it is like Disney World!
-You are transitioning to the young toddler room at school.  Hearing them say toddler makes you seem so big.  You love the new class!!  There is so much more for you to do and explore there.
-Your smile and big dimples still melt our hearts.
-You still HATE getting dressed and getting your diaper changed.  We get our workout in by chasing you around the room to get your clothes on.
-You still hate most shoes.
-You are still an EXTREMELY early riser.
-Your little personality is so sweet and you are more fun each and every day!!

Here are some of our favorite pictures from the year....

So crazy to see this....our very 1st sonogram!!  We could have never imagined the amazing boy that would come from this little dot on the screen :).

One of the 1st times I got to hold my sweet boy

 

Had to post this picture right after he was born.  he literally still holds his hands out like this....especially when he walks!

 

He was so tiny!

Such a proud dad!!  Luke is so incredibly blessed to have Brent as a father....he loves him more than life itself!

One of my favorites.....sweet nap on the couch

Meeting some of his cousins...these girls will teach him how to be such a gentleman!!

Such a sweet face

Some of his 1st smiles....it still lights up a room

1st flight....he didn't make a peep!!  I have a feeling it would be a little different now considering he is into everything!!! :)

Supporting his favorite team :)
 

1st Halloween....sweet little dinosaur

1st Thanksgiving

1st Christmas

Of course the 1st haircut....he still hates these!

 

1st Easter!!

                                         

Love this sweet smile

 

 

We had a wonderful time celebrating with family and friends this weekend.  Pictures of the party and his stats coming soon!!  Love you tons little man!!!

                                         

 

 

                           

Little obsessions

I was a pretty strange child and went through some pretty weird stages.....I unfortunately may have passed this on to Luke.  I hope he doesn't have too many of my weird quirks :).

Things we have noticed so far are some of his weird obsessions.  The one that has been most consistent is his crazy obsession with our coffee cups!  This one will just not go away....he will do anything and everything to get our cups in the morning and stick his whole face in it.  I don't know if he likes the smell or just wants to be a big boy and drink coffee like mom and dad.  He has taken a little bit of the nice, relaxing joy of coffee away :).

 

Shoes.....ah the troubles we have with shoes!!!  He will literally only wear one pair....we definitely got money's worth on this pair.  We have had to buy them in every size.  We have tried every other pair imaginable!!!  We put Crocs on him and you would have thought we put little needles in them prior to putting them on....he freaked out!!  He would just stare at them, cry and not move.  We did learn if we ever need him to just sit still and stay where he is we can just put any other pair of shoes other than his "go to" pair and he won't move.  I tend to find a pair that I like and stick with them until they fall apart and then I will get the same pair again.....so I am probably to blame for this one :).

Grills.....he is obsessed with grills.  I think he is just trying to be just like dad because dad is always tending to the grill.  He loves our new Big Green Egg!  He is constantly trying to go over there and he just rubs his hands all over it.  The darn thing gets so hot and he just doesn't understand why he can't touch it.  Hopefully this phase will pass soon!

Golf, sports, and balls.....he gets this one from his dad.  He loves all of Brent's golf items.  He will go to the range with Brent and could literally stay out there all day!!  He has been obsessed with his clubs for as long as I can remember!  We got him a little plastic set but they are not as cool as dad's set so his isn't that into it.  He is really into any sort of ball.....he likes to throw them all over the house....this may have to become an outside game in the near future!  It will be very interesting to see if he got my athletic ability or Brent's.....let's just hope it is not mine or he may be manager of the team instead of quarterback :). 

These are just a few of his many obsessions....can't to see what else pops up :).

11 months old!!

Luke turned 11 months old on the 19th and his little personality is really starting to show more and more!  This kid knows exactly what he wants and what he doesn't and he isn't afraid to tell us about it.  I think he may get that from his mom :).  He also likes to wake up really, REALLY early.  I am really hoping this is just a phase but it has been going on for a while.  Homeboy is ready to party at 5am!!!  That is just a little too early for us.  We have literally been getting in bed at 8pm so we can keep up with him.

He is really getting good at walking.  I love the walking stage for many reasons.  Obviously, it is a such big milestone and he gets so proud and happy when he walks.  It also seems so much less disgusting then crawling all over the gross floor.  That's the germaphobe in me coming out but it really is gross if you think about it.    And hopefully we won't go through as many pants....they all get ruined because he rubs little holes in the knees from crawling.  If I were to design babies clothes I would add an extra layer or two in the knees to make them last a little longer.  They probably already do this with the more expensive clothes :).

Each stage just gets better and better!!  He is so much fun and we just love watching him grow up.  I can't wait to see what comes next!  We love you so much sweet Luke!!! 

Here are some pictures of Luke!!

So proud and excited when he walks!



Patiently waiting for me to finish my coffee so he can have the cup

 

...this obsession is very strange to me!

 



Fun on the playground!!
 

Ready to go at 5am!!  This is how pumped he is early in the morning :)

Fun with his cousins

We have  a little family of ducks again.  The mom comes back every year and lays her eggs by our pool.  The kids are having so much fun seeing all the baby ducks!  Luke will just stare out the window at them.  They are so cute!  She had 12 little ones...thank goodness humans don't have that many at once :).

Enjoying the beautiful patio weather!

Our little walker :)

Luke has taken steps here and there for the past few weeks and he pretty much has it now!!!  It makes him seem so big see him try to walk everywhere. He gets so excited and so proud when he does it! Our little man is growing up!! We can't wait to continue to see him pass these big milestones.

 

 

Practicing walking in the kitchen.  He is also a little obsessed with the wine fridge...he will literally lick the glass.  I think he has his mom and dads love for wine already!

We really need to get on the baby proofing thing.  He is obsessed with opening every cabinet and taking EVERYTHING out of it.

Getting so big!!

Easter

We had a wonderful Easter celebrating with my family.  We went to my parents house for the afternoon and cooked out.  It ended up being a beautiful day!  Here are a few pictures of our day.

My two handsome men!

Luke taking all of Hallie's food.  If his eating habits now are any sign of when he is 16, he will literally eat us out of house and home!!!  This kid will eat anything and everything!!!

Opening his Easter gift from the Bullard's.  They got him this little bear and you can record your voice on it.  His face lit up when he heard all their voices.

Such a happy boy!!

Wagon ride with his cousins...he didn't exactly get the concept of staying in the wagon and tried to climb out the entire time :)

Family pic

Already LOVES anything golf related....dad has done a good job introducing this early :)

Will play in this water table forever!!  Loves it but comes out soaking wet!

10 months old - First steps, first words!!

Luke is 10 months old and growing up so fast!!!  It has been an exciting month!!  He recently took his first steps and he is also now saying mama and dada ALL the time :).  It melts my heart when I hear these words.  They say at school he will just walk around saying it.  So sweet!!!  I can't wait to hear what all he has to say when he starts really talking.  I have a feeling he won't stop!

Things he currently LOVES....people food...he won't even look at baby food anymore.  His favorites so far are bananas, yogurt, mac and cheese, and chicken nuggets.  Also loves Mom and dad, exploring, removing everything from our coffee table and end tables, being outside, and his walker.  He still LOVES coffee cups, wine glasses, and dad's cocktails.  We may have to lock up the liquor cabinet sooner than we thought.  He still absolutely HATES to get dressed and get his diaper changed!  I hope this phase passes soon :). 

We  just fall more in love with this guy everyday!!  He brings us so much joy and happiness!!  I love being able to experience the world through the eyes of a child again. It is amazing how wonderful the little things are in life when you look at it this way.  We love you sweet Luke!!

Love this stage of clothes...finally out of onesies and into cute little polo shirts :)

1st trip to the pet store. He LOVED looking at the dogs.....don't worry we aren't getting one!

Enjoying the patio weather with his cousins!

Eating his big boy food!!  He is a lot like his dad and has to eat the minute he gets up or he gets a little grumpy.

 

9 months

Sweet Luke is 9 months old.  Here are his 9 month stats:

Weight:  19lbs 3oz, 42%
Height:  27.5", 18%
Head:  17.52, 36%

He is ALL over the place!!  They tell us at school how much he loves to explore...I think this is a nice way of telling us he is a mess :).  He wants to get into anything and everything.  Things he currently loves.....mom and dad, coffee cups, wine glasses, baby food, the fireplace, all our nice decorative and breakable items, our fake tree, and putting everything in his mouth.  He is so much fun and it is amazing how much our love for this kid grows everyday!!  He puts the biggest smile on my face just thinking about him.  I can't wait to see him grow up.  He has the sweetest personality and smiles with his entire face.  

He has serious stranger danger right now....this was at Tyler and Addison's 2nd birthday party.  He got a little upset when we put him down to play.

Finally warmed up and had fun at the party.

Loves the fireplace....absolutely HATES getting dressed or getting his diaper changed.  It is with out of doubt the most challenging part of our day...which if that it the hardest part, I'd say we have it good!  He will roll all over the floor naked before he will let us get him dressed.  It takes both of us to get him dressed most days.

One of his favorite toys....Santa picked a good one here!

Everything goes in his mouth!!!

Such a handsome, happy boy!  Thanks for the adorable Toms Grandad and Mo!

1st haircut!  He was not a fan.  He is terrified of blow dryers and the girl next to us had it on the entire time.  Sweet boy!

Always takes our coffee cups so we just give him his own in the morning.

Loves wine glasses too!

 

Celebrating B's birthday at Javier's